The history of traditional wooden dhows goes back over a thousand years. Spread across the Indian Ocean beyond the Arabian Peninsula by Arab navigators, these boats reached Indonesia, Madagascar, India, Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania and the Comoros archipelago. Mainly dedicated to fishing and inter-island and coastal shipping, dhows were for a long time an essential solution for the Qatari population for trading fresh water, fruit and goods, as well as for fishing and pearl diving. Today, dhows have found their place in the tourism industry. They are used as leisure boats, for dinner cruises and tours of Doha Bay to admire the West Bay skyline.